Egypt legend Ahmed Hassan has criticized Mohamed Salah for returning to Liverpool to treat his hamstring, stating the right-winger should have stayed with the squad to give them morale support during their AFCON bid.

Mohamed Salah Has Returned To Liverpool From AFCON Duty

Salah left Liverpool in the first week of January to represent Egypt in AFCON 2023 in Ivory Coast. The Premier League great chipped in with a goal and an assist in Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Mozambique in the tournament opener on January 14. Five days later, Egypt played out another 2-2 draw, this time with Ghana. To make matters worse, Salah picked up a serious hamstring injury during the encounter, which ruled him out of the group stage.

The 31-year-old decided to treat his injury under Liverpool’s world-class physios and returned to Merseyside as a result. The Pharaos hope to avail their captain’s services again if they manage to reach the business end of the tournament.

Salah Plotted To Leave National Team, Claims Egypt Legend

Salah’s decision to return to England has not sat well with Hassan. The four-time AFCON winner said he was happy to see the Liverpool star captain Egypt in AFCON 2023 but claimed the former AS Roma star was always “plotting” his exit from the national team.

He said (via Liverpool.com):

“I’ve always backed Salah and I was very happy with his presence as captain of the Egyptian national team. I had no problems with what he said, but it turned out that he was plotting his departure from the Egypt camp.

“Do the AFCON regulations allow a player to leave the national team’s camp and come back again He had the possibility of bringing in someone from Liverpool’s medical staff to be with him during the competition. Again, he is the captain. He should stay with the team no matter what, even if he only had one leg to stand on.”

Hassan concluded by adding:

“He even said himself that it’s the Egyptian national team, not Salah’s national team, and this is true. We have confidence in all the players who are there and they must fight for the title.”

Salah’s agent has claimed the 2020 Premier League winner’s injury is worse than initially thought. He could be out of action for three to four weeks, meaning he is unlikely to play a part in Egypt’s AFCON bid.